and the Standard-Inscription. Additionally, lamassu statues 7 were placed on both sides of several doorways. For the sake of the length of this article the doorways and, therefore, the colossi will not be taken into account 8.
Methodology The available dataset is based on the earlier mentioned reconstructions of the original location of the wall reliefs by Meuszynski( 1981), and Paley and Sobolewki( 1987; 1992). The rooms will be discussed using the designated names that were also used in these volumes. Each relief has been assigned to one of the seven earlier mentioned categories, based on the images depicted on the reliefs. Unfortunately, at several locations it cannot be determined which reliefs and how many were originally placed there, and therefore an estimation will be made of the number of these missing reliefs. This is especially the case in The Doublesided Reception Suite, since almost no reliefs have been found in situ. These reliefs have largely been removed by a later king, to adorn the Southwest Palace 9. The Double-sided Reception Suite will, therefore, not be incorporated in this research,
cannot be determined.
There are four types of reliefs present in the Northwest Palace:( 1) reliefs on which the image is depicted on the entire plate,( 2) reliefs which bear two images that are separated by the Standard- Inscription,( 3) reliefs of which the image partly covers the plate, and( 4) reliefs that bear three images, and do not bear the Standard-Inscription. Reliefs of the last type only bear religious scenes( Schubert 2016, 24). Reliefs of type two can contain images from different categories. Therefore, the reliefs will be assigned to both categories and receive a value of 0,5, in order to make it possible to assign reliefs to two categories. In all the other cases, the reliefs will receive a value of 1,0. These values will be used in order to generate several graphs. The number of depictions of the king will also be taken into account.
First, the reliefs will be analysed per suite( thus, the Throneroom Suite, the Eastern Suite and the King’ s Suite). Since the Central Courtyard and several associated hallways are also decorated with wall reliefs, these will be assigned to the Central Courtyard and will also be taken account in this analysis. Second, the wall reliefs will be examined in connection to the rooms that had the same function.
Results Hunting scenes, tributary scenes and scenes of warfare were only located in the Throneroom Suite
Suite were only adorned with religious scenes and the Standard-Inscription. This is also the case for the Central Courtyard, with the exception of one undecorated plate. The king was most often depicted in the Eastern Suite( n = 23), followed by the Throneroom Suite( n = 22) and lastly the King’ s suite, in which the king is only depicted once( see table 1).
Remarkably, the storage rooms are all decorated in the same manner. The bathrooms, corridors, hallways and retiring rooms are all adorned with either the Standard-Inscription, religious scenes, or both. With exception of the throneroom, the reception rooms are also decorated in a similar
these were mainly placed in the reception rooms, the adjacent hallways( rooms C and N), and the retiring rooms. Also, two images of the king were placed in the Throneroom Courtyard.
Discussion There are several patterns observable in the location of the wall reliefs of the Northwest Palace, which are related to the suite and the type of room in which they were located. Reliefs depicting narrative scenes were only found in the Throneroom suite. The tributary scenes are mainly located on the façade of the throneroom( D / ED / E), and were placed there in order to direct the visitors to the west-entrance of the throneroom. Paley and Sobolewski( 1997, 334) therefore stated that tribute bearers were automatically informed about the royal protocol when appearing before the king. This is further emphasized by the two tributary reliefs that were positioned in the throneroom opposite of this entrance, which would make the route“ complete”. Hence, the wall reliefs were used to inform and direct its tributary visitors. The throne itself was situated on the eastside of the room and the visitors were directed throughout its entire length, passing several scenes of warfare and hunting scenes.( Kertai 2015, 30). Thus, a second function of the reliefs was to impress its viewers, and to make certain that the king was present through these depictions, even if he himself was not physically present at the moment.
in the palace where rituals were performed by the king( Russell 1998, 671-674). Regarding the wall reliefs this seems very plausible, as the king is often depicted performing rituals, frequently assisted by
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